Who is Garlin Gilchrist? Facts about Gretchen Whitmer's running mate

Garlin Gilchrist, who lost his election for Detroit City Clerk, talks to volunteers before the Board of County Canvassers for Wayne County meeting at Cobo Center in Detroit in December 2017.(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo

Democratic candidate for governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday her running mate would be Garlin Gilchrist, a Detroit activist.

Here's everything you need to know about Gilchrist ahead of the Nov. 6 elections:

His background is in progressive politics and computer programming — he used to work for Microsoft, was a political organizer for the left-wing MoveOn.org and managed social media for Barack Obama's first presidential campaign.

Gilchrist ran for Detroit city clerk in 2017 and was endorsed by a range of left-leaning groups, including Our Revolution, which grew out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential run.

Gilchrist lost his run for city clerk by 1,482 votes out of nearly 100,000 ballots, but out-raised his incumbent opponent more than 10-1. Most of his funds came from small-dollar donations. He has several late campaign filing notices, including $400 in fines associated with reports that have been filed late.